Constituent order in picture pointing sequences produced by speaking children using AAC

ABSTRACT Children using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) picture boards often produce sequences of symbols that do not reflect the grammatical structure of the language spoken in their environment. These irregularities may reflect an incomplete or incorrect representation of linguistic structure. Alternatively, they may simply be the result of constraints on the communication mode itself. This study examined constituent order and deletion in picture board communication in children who are known to have intact linguistic knowledge (i.e., normally developing native speakers of English). The results suggest that English syntactic knowledge is not automatically applied to picture board communication. Additional skills may be required to transpose linguistic knowledge into the visual-graphic modality used in AAC systems. Moreover, the regularity of non-English responses suggests that there is a bias for specific structures in visual communication systems.

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